Luka Doncic fined $35K by NBA for ‘unprofessional’ money gesture toward refs

Last updated: 2023/03/24 at 9:26 PM

BigP Published March 24, 2023

The NBA has fined Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic $35,000 on Friday for making an “inappropriate and unprofessional” money gesture toward officials during the Mavericks’ Wednesday night loss to the Golden State Warriors, the league announced on Friday.

In a game that meant so much to both teams in the jammed-up Western Conference play-in tournament race, Doncic had another run-in with officials, which has been addressed numerous times, including by his head coach, Jason Kidd, last season.

Doncic has received 15 technical fouls and one ejection this season, and he’s forfeited $79,000 due to fines. One more technical foul and Doncic will serve a one-game suspension.

Though a regular occurrence for Doncic, this is just the tip of the iceberg when mentioning Dallas’ recent struggles.

In their last 10 games, Doncic has missed five with a strained left thigh, and the Mavericks are 4-10. Five of those six losses came by seven or fewer points, but before this recent skid, they were 32-29, hovering around the fifth and sixth spot in the West. Dallas now sits eighth in a technical four-way tie with the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Doncic’s gesture punctuated the end of the same game that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban announced the team was protesting due to what the team believes to be an officiating error late in the third quarter, in a confusing sequence regarding who had possession of the ball, which resulted in an uncontested bucket by Kevon Looney.

In the five games Doncic has played over this 10-game stretch, he’s averaging 30.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 9.4 assists. In his five-game absence, Dallas is 1-4.

So, will Dallas get back on track? The season is wrapping up fast and tempers are flaring.

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